In the New Age numerous techniques are found to
expand one’s consciousness and to communicate with spirits. Use is often made
of techniques that have their origins in the East where numerous meditation
techniques have been developed to reach enlightenment. Well-known techniques
are Zen meditation and Transcendental Meditation.
Eastern gurus have introduced them into the West as
neutral techniques that are not bound to a special religion and that could be
practised also by Christians. Indeed, Christians too have started to practise
these meditation exercises and there are even monasteries in which monks have
integrated yoga and Zen into Christian spirituality. Is this justified?
The late Pastor van Dam, a well-known Dutch
exorcist, once said that demons had exclaimed, “We have access to the Catholic
church through yoga and Zen in monasteries.” Whether this is true and how this
is possible, we will now come to understand.
The basic principle of Eastern philosophy is that
one can reach enlightenment by eliminating the process of thinking. The divine
reality, it is said, is beyond all words and thoughts. Enlightenment means that
one transcends all words and thoughts and is absorbed into the divine in a state
of inner emptiness. The state of consciousness one reaches in this way is
inexpressible. Buddha also could not express in words what this state of
enlightenment, which he called Nirvana, implies. It has, however, never been
the intention of Christian spirituality to stop all thinking and to become an
empty vessel. Theresa of Avila warned against such a state of consciousness and
said,
“We should never try to stop
our own thinking by all kinds of techniques in order to wait and look for an
experience of God, being inwardly empty and inactive like fools.”
It isn’t only foolish to empty our mind but also
dangerous. If you stop thinking and you empty your mind, you become a vessel of
all kinds of powers and forces that are not of God. In this way demons can
indeed get a grip on you. Now we can understand the story of a Hindu who had to
put up a struggle against madness, because he had practised meditation and
emptied his mind. But is this also true of Zen?
Let us first scrutinize the experiences one can get
through Zen meditation. Professor H. van Straelen SVD, who practised Zen
meditation in Japan for some time himself, mentions in his book De niet
christelijke godsdiensten en het Christendom (Non-Christian Religions and Christianity)
that Imagita Kôsen, one of the great Zen masters from the Meyi Priode
(1868-1912) gave the following description of his experience:
“I entered the realm of the
miraculous and then I was in the country of the great Death. There was
no longer any perception of the existence of all beings and of the ego. I only
felt how in my body a spirit extended to thousands of worlds and how an endless
glow of light came into being. A little later I started to breathe. Suddenly
seeing, hearing, speaking and moving had become completely different.”[1]
Kôsen did not have contact with the living God, but
with a spirit of death.
Hakuin (1685-1768), called the founder of modern Zen
by Suzuki, described his first experience of enlightenment as follows:
“I did not sleep at all, at
night or by day, and I forgot to eat. Suddenly the Great Doubt was standing in
front of me. I felt completely rigid and was in a huge ice sheet. I could not
walk forward or backward and was beside myself. Only the one and nothing was
standing in front of me. This state lasted several days. When I suddenly woke
up, I cried with a loud voice, ‘How wonderful. Neither is an escape from the
cycle of life and death needed nor is a striving for enlightenment required. It
is not worth looking at the 1700 complicated kôan exercises.’ My pride rose like a mountain,
haughtiness and enthusiasm bubbled up like a flood. I thought secretly that
there had never been such a breakthrough like mine for two or three hundred
years. In this mood I departed for the Shinano province.”[2]
He also has not met God, but the Doubt and the
Nothing. His experience made him very proud. We have seen where a spirit of
haughtiness comes from.
Eastern enlightenment differs fundamentally from the
enlightenment of which the Bible speaks. In the letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews
6:4) enlightenment means being baptized, and this we learn from the early
Christian literature. What this enlightenment implies the church father Cyprian
(210-258) tells us, who was baptized as an adult after his conversion.
“For as I myself was held in
bonds by the innumerable errors of my previous life, from which I did not
believe that I could possibly be delivered, so I was disposed to acquiesce in
my clinging vices; and because I despaired of better things, I used to indulge
my sins as if they were actually parts of me, and indigenous to me. But after
that, by the help of the water of new birth, the strain of former years had
been washed away, and a light from above, serene and pure, had been infused into
my reconciled heart – after that, by the agency of the Spirit breathed from
heaven, a second birth had restored me to a new man – then, in a wondrous
manner, doubtful things at once began to assure themselves to me, hidden things
to be revealed, dark things to be enlightened, what before had seemed difficult
began to suggest a means of accomplishment, what had been thought impossible,
to be capable of being achieved; so that I was enabled to acknowledge that
previously, being born of the flesh, I had been living in the practice of sins,
was of the earth, earthly, but had now begun to be of God, and was animated by
the Spirit of holiness.”[3]
This enlightenment means that we really become a new
creation: we become a child of God and receive the Spirit of love and holiness.
Zen Buddhism has its origins in China and came from
China to Japan, where it has had a significant influence on literature and art.
Because it is difficult not to think at all, there are diverse tools, like for
instance, the mondo (dialogue) and kôan (an irrational saying) in
order to have our thoughts stripped away so as to make us ripe for
enlightenment.
Here are a few examples of a mondo:
·
Whenever
an old master was asked for the meaning of Zen, he held his fingers up. This
was his only answer. Another kicked a ball. Again another hit the questioner. A
monk who has not yet been ordained, who speaks of Buddha respectfully, is
commanded to rinse his mouth and not to speak out that dirty word any more.
·
A
monk approached a master with the words: “I have just come to this monastery.
Please give me instruction.” The master asks him: “Have you already had
breakfast?” “Yes,” the monk answers. “Go and wash your bowl,” the master
commands. That talk apparently achieved its goal: the questioner understood the
meaning of Zen.
A kôan is a short, mostly illogical and
incomprehensible saying. Here are a couple of examples.
Sometimes even physical violence is used. Professor van Straelen writes:
“We hear of a master who
closed a heavy door just as a pupil passed through and so broke his leg. The
pupil reached the enlightenment at that moment. Another master had his pupils
thrashed mercilessly saying: ‘If you don’t understand, thirty strokes with a
stick. If you do understand, also thirty strokes.’”
A second step on the way to inner emptiness,
Professor van Straelen continues, consists of certain images that pass like in
a hallucination.
“One sees, for instance, the
images of beings that do not exist, sometimes wild animals or a big eye by
which one is gazed at. Unknown forces arising from the depth of the
subconscious present themselves. After some time it falls silent in him.”[4]
I fear that these unknown forces are of a demonic
origin.
The “ethics” of Zen also shows that one does not
meet God in this way. We find, for instance, in one of the most ancient Zen
poems the following advice:
“If you want to know the
full truth, don’t care for good and evil. The conflict between good and evil is
exactly the illness of our mind.”
Through Zen enlightenment the normal ethical order
comes to an end, which fundamentally contrasts with the Christian and also
common human norms and values. In Christianity enlightenment gives us a spirit
of love and holiness and not of immorality.
Maharishi, the guru of Transcendental Meditation
(TM), makes us a beautiful promise. We only need to practice meditation twice a
day for twenty minutes and then we will enter paradise. If a certain number of
people in the world practised TM, heaven would come down to earth.
In the previous chapter we learned that beautiful
promises that are not fulfilled are Satan’s bright ideas. In practice we see
that many people who began TM with high expectation, were disappointed by
negative experiences. From people who have practised TM I have heard that many
drop out with mental problems, or even commit suicide.
In spite of that, Maharishi tells us that TM is a
neutral relaxation technique and, therefore, can be practised by everyone
regardless of his or her religious background. However, we have seen that
Eastern meditation is not neutral, but departs from principles that conflict
with the Christian faith. That is also true of TM. Maharishi withholds
important background information.
The meditation technique can only become effective
through the initiation. Most people who start TM don’t realise at all what they
experience. Actually the initiation is a question of a puja, an offering
to the Hindu gods. Rolf Wennekes
explains in his book Tussen wetenschap en mystiek (Between Science and
Mysticism):
“Each kind of offering or puja
is interwoven with the daily life of the Hindu. It occupies an important
position in his life at crucial moments and assures him of the power of his
spiritual guru or the chosen deity (ishtadevata) in decisive stages of
life, like birth, the naming of the newborn, marriage and death. From his birth
the Oriental becomes familiar with contents, meaning and functions of the Yajurveda:
ritual texts by which the blessings of gods are brought down on men.”[5]
A puja implies an offering to Hindu gods and
gurus. In this way, gods and spirits are called up. During the initiation ceremony the deceased masters of Maharishi
and other deceased teachers are invoked. So, one starts to belong to the
religious tradition of Indian gurus. One girl, during her initiation ceremony,
saw that men in strange clothes appeared one by one with flowers in the
incense-filled, half-dark initiation room, while the teacher called out all
names in Sanskrit. This means that indeed spirits are being conjured or called
up.
The initiate is required to take fruit, flowers and
a white handkerchief to the initiation ceremony. Usually the person is not aware that such a puja is meant
for the gods. One of the gods invoked is Shiva, the master of the yoga, the god
of destruction. Because the texts are written in Sanskrit, the initiate does
not know that he contacts the Hindu pantheon in this way.
The initiate also gets a mantra, a holy word
that one has to repeat during meditation in order to silence the mind. Even
TM-teachers think that a mantra is a neutral word, but Rolf Wennekes
explains convincingly that that is simply not the case. He writes that it is
rather unknown in the TM-circuit that the doctrine of the mantras is discussed
at great length in the various Tantra-schools.
One actually recites the powerful word of a Hindu
god, by which one contacts that god. Mantras belong to certain gods. The
objective is to identify with the god or goddess.
Each age group has its own mantra. Within
group I (4-24 years) the mantra belongs to Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom.
Within group II (25-35 years) the mantra belongs to Lakshmi, the goddess of
wealth. Within group III (36-45 years) the mantra belongs to Kali, the most
horrific deity of the Hindu pantheon. Her bare body is black; she has a chain
of skulls around her neck and is standing in a boat at a sea of blood. Within
group IV (46-55 years) the mantra belongs to Bhuvaneshvari, the mistress of the
earth. Only within the last group is the mantra a word that exists in Sanskrit
and means “rest.”
According to Maharishi the mantra brings the
person who meditates into contact with a neutral transcendental reality. We
cannot, however, call the gods neutral. We don’t get in touch with “something
neutral,” but with powers and forces in the world of spirits. In the unseen
world of spirits we are dealing with beings that are good or evil, with angels
and demons.
A person who had been initiated experienced that she
was beaten very hard on her head; this was very difficult to stop. She clearly
experienced that, through TM, one could come under a demonic influence.
Harry, who practised TM, tells his story:
“Because I was being confronted with myself all the
time, I was looking for a way to find rest in my life. I thought I had found it
in TM, which, at first, seemed to work.
But I noticed that I had to take more courses that cost a huge amount of
money. Anyway, the so-called rest I thought to experience was not accompanied
by many practical results. The more I progressed, the more I actually secluded
myself from the daily activities. I got up later and later, was very tired and
always had a longing for the time of meditation. As I learned more advanced
techniques, I noticed that the mantras were not mere sounds as alleged, but
that they were the names of Hindu gods.
Gradually I noticed that my TM-friends ended up in
mental difficulties. Some of them were due to go into a mental hospital. It
really started to strike me that so many of them became mental wrecks. That
really made me think: is this really so
good? I was also so tired all the time. I also heard of suicides.
The turning point for me was when a girl friend of
mine became mentally disturbed. She was to go into a mental hospital and always
heard voices and saw light all the time. A compelling voice constantly
commanded her to walk around in circles which led her to run into the wall of
her room continually. After a miserable year that voice finally gave her the
order to leap in front of a rushing train. These were not isolated incidents,
but you heard of them from TM-people on all sides. For me, this was the drop
that made the cup of doubt run over.
Still I had such a longing for a spiritual
counterpart to the materialistic life; there had to be something. God heard my
call and had me read exactly the right passages from the New Testament. I had
learned to meditate with a sound and to experience a creative force in a sound
or name. Then I read the epistle of Paul to the Philippians through which
everything became clear and was put in its proper perspective:
‘Therefore God exalted him
to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth.’ (Phil. 2:9,10)
No mantra or name of a strange idol but the
Name of Jesus, the Messiah! Finally I had found what I was seeking.”
Eastern meditation does not lead to the triune God,
but brings us under the influence of all kinds of powers and forces that are
not of God and dominate our lives. Some Christians have a positive view of the
relaxation exercises. They do not realise that we can get into contact with a
deceptive peace, emptying our mind. In the section on yoga this question will
be dealt with in greater depth.
However, that does not mean that all silence and
self-contemplation is wrong. Christians often practise a time of silence in
order to communicate with God. They withdraw in silence for a time in order to
contemplate the Bible, to pray or simply to sit down at Jesus’ feet and to
listen to his voice. Christian meditation does not mean that we are completely
wrapped up in ourselves or in the Divine, but out attitude is fixed on a
personal relationship with God. For this reason Professor van Straelen changed his
mind and stopped all Zen meditation. He knows from experience that such eastern
meditation techniques can throw a person into mental confusion and that it is
not compatible with the Christian faith. He describes the difference between
Zen and Christian meditation as follows:
“[Christian] meditation does
not aim at the complete emptying of the mind, but only at the emptying of what
is bad, in order to proceed in a positive way afterwards. Everything directed
at God, the good.”
Tibetan Buddhism is becoming especially popular
nowadays, thanks to the charismatic New Age leader, the XIV Dalai Lama. Many
Westerners discover the way to eastern religions through him and receive an
initiation into the Kalachakra Tantra, a Tibetan Buddhist writing. In
October 2002 the Dalai Lama held a gigantic initiation celebration in Graz,
Austria. A poll in Germany showed that Germans consider the Dalai Lama to be
the wisest man in the world, even wiser than the Pope. He has a very charismatic
personality and comes across as an apostle of peace and a protagonist of the
ecumenical dialogue. In other words, he seems to represent the ideals of modern
man: peace, harmony, freedom, spirituality, democracy and dialogue.
But is the Kalachakra Tantra indeed as
peaceful as it seems to be? Does it really contribute to world peace? Does it
really proclaim the ideals of modern man? Criticism is also heard from
different sides. The German
philosophers of culture, Victor and Victoria Trimondi, who initially were also
behind the Dalai Lama, have for instance thoroughly studied the Kalachakra
Tantra in a voluminous book, entitled The Shadow of the Dalai Lama,
and have not come to a positive conclusion.[6]
Their discoveries can be even classed as shocking. What they discovered is the
complete opposite of the Christian and common human values that are accepted in
the West. Behind the smile of the Dalai Lama is a spiritual world of which only
a few people are aware. The question is therefore which kind of religion does
Tibetan Buddhism represent and which kind of spirituality does the Dalai Lama
offer to modern man.
In Tibetan Buddhism belief in gods, spirits and
demon plays an important part. There are a lot of gods and goddesses. Some are
kind-hearted, but others look frightening and swing with tusks, skulls, daggers
and other paraphernalia. John Snelling calls them archetypes of primal
energies, but I think it more adequate to call them demons. Demonic forces are
ambivalent. They have two faces.
Tibetan Buddhism is quite occult. The practice of
visualization is important. It means that the students are given a god to
visualize. These gods, who appear in a wrathful or monstrous form most of the
time, must help them to reach the enlightenment. The goal of visualization is
identification with the gods. The
students try to become what they see. Through visualization a person can
actually call up demons.
One wonders whether the Dalai Lama may have finished with the Tibetan pantheon and the occult practises. Unfortunately, however, he is still caught in the Tibetan religion. The tutelary deity of Tibet, whom he adores, is Palden Lhamo, a horrific goddess. According to the Buddhist tradition this goddess has personally killed her own son, because he did not want to accept the Buddhist faith. She is said to have upholstered the saddle of her mule with the skin of her son’s corpse. Palden Lhamo rides through a bloody lake in order to destroy all enemies of Buddhism.
A second cruel demonic power, a former Mongolian god
of war, Pehar, belongs to the spiritual allies of the Dalai Lama. The state
oracle Pechung, who is the medium of this god, is consulted by him when he has
to make an important decision.
The Dalai Lama also recommends visualization techniques.
He relates in a book Path to Bliss that it is a good help for
visualization to have a picture of the gods one meditates upon, like Buddha
Sakhyamuni, and often to have a look at it. The person who meditates must
create his own reality. One must make
the most of the possibility that arises now.
Moreover, mandala’s are used as an aid
for meditation. Painting mandala’s has an occult power in Buddhism –
this often happens at schools. They are painted in order to invoke Buddha’s,
gods and demons and to invite them to take up their residence in the “mandala
palace.” In the magic worldview of Tibetan Buddhism the installation of a mandala
has influence over the person who meditates upon it.
The following letter which the Trimondi’s received
from a German lady shows us what can happen when a person has been initiated by
a Tibetan lama.
“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Trimondi,
From your book The Shadow of the Dalai Lama I
am pleased to know what the “energy ball” means. In the summer of 1997 in Italy while on a course given by a lama
yogi whom I have known since the autumn of 1995, an energy ball rolled into the
chakra (energy centre) on the top of my head. It happened during the second
evening during a fire ritual. The man acted as a shaman: the upper part of the
body being undressed, wearing a chain of bones and a large crown with mirror
and skull. When I asked myself, “What is this?” I heard, “Protection.”
During the last evening we heard a lecture by a
Tibetan doctor, while the lama yogi was sitting on a throne.
Suddenly the inner room of my heart was opened, I
felt light. Then the lecture stopped abruptly.
Something essential had happened. Ever since I experience the yogi’s
presence within me. The inner rooms were separated. At present, however, it is
threatening. I am apathetic, lethargic and I have a humming in my ears, as well
as strong heart- and head vibrations. In 1998 I could only work for half a
year, at present I have reduced my work. I feel threatened by this strange energy,
which alienates me from life.
This is the story of my life. In September 1991 I
underwent energy treatment. Soon afterwards I experienced a dramatic
kundalini-force that even went into the electrical appliances. In October 1993
I met Rinpoche during the conference: “Humanistic Medicine.” Then the chakra on
the top of my head was opened like a fountain. I had never experienced such a
thing.
During a retreat in Kirchheim in 1993/1994 I wanted
to talk to him about this but I did not get a response. While I was there I was
an active participant in Buddhism and I took several courses. In the summer of
1996 I became very desolate during a meditation course due to the outpouring of
light into the chakra on the top of my head. Again I met Rinpoche in September
during a conference. Something “humid”
entered into me from above. In June 1997 the energy ball, coming from the lama
yogi, entered into me. After three weeks there was another retreat. Then he
said, in a telepathic way, during a fire ritual: “I am your guru in secret.” I
experienced that something poured out of me, my legs were trembling and it was
as if the earth opened.
What happened is so unbelievable and threatening.
When I woke up the next morning I was completely exhausted and my normal
menstruation failed to come, etc… In
1998 I met him three times. This is
only possible because of the energy ball that has occupied my will, my ego, my
whole being, as I did not really want it.
During the summer in Italy he brought me into a
trance together with two Indians. At the end of September 1998 I was initiated
by Rinpoche in the Black Forest… After that initiation my head was really
boiling and I had to put something cold on my head during my work.
From 7 to 10 October I lost consciousness at home. I
can’t remember anything from this time. When I came back to my normal
consciousness, I heard “Powa” and I had sharp aches in my heart and breastbone.
It turned out that I had inflammation of the breastbone…
The lamas have a great power through their tantric
rituals.”
8. CLAIRVOYANCE INTO THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
Almost all New Agers believe in reincarnation: we
have already lived several times on earth; every time we are born again as a
baby. After a lecture a man came to me who said in jest, “I do not believe in
reincarnation. In my past life I did not believe in it and in my next life I
shall not believe in it.” For many people, however, this idea is taken very
seriously.
The doctrine of reincarnation is connected with the
notion of karma: the law of cause and effect. If we act well, our next
life will be better, and if we act badly, our next life will be worse. Pastor
Hans Stolp has a positive view of the law of karma. He thinks it is the
law of grace and not an iron law. If we conquer our negative motives, we are
given salvation and forgiveness. But it is not as beautiful as it seems.
Suppose our life ends in failure. I too sat down in the ruins of my life. Then
we will still suffer from it in another life. Then we will have to do penance
for our failures. The late Father Karel Douven said that he suffered from
asthma because he had been with the inquisition in a previous life. In a
Christian magazine for youth I read that being born with a paralysed leg is the
result of selfishness in a previous life. Then you had better put it right now.
This doctrine is as hard as a stone. There is actually no real grace. As we
have seen, we recognize a false spirit by harshness. You have to put everything
right yourself and, if you fail, there is no hope or consolation. It is thought
to be an interesting idea that you may have been a famous person in a previous
life, but you can also suffer from problems due to a past life. And so I read
that, if you as a woman have a fear of lifts, it can be the result of being
raped in a dark room in a previous life. There is even a regression therapy in
which you are carried back to so-called past lives under hypnosis in order to
find out the cause of your problems.
There are more and more Christians who hold the
opinion that reincarnation and the Christian faith can be combined. The concept
of an eternal heaven and hell after this life has to make way for a return to
the earth. Eternal life in heaven is a grace from God. It is the most beautiful
present that God can give to men. But it is exactly that that is off-putting
for people nowadays. Stolp prefers the thought that we can grow and learn
through many lives by doing our best. He has, however, a black-and-white
opinion of heaven. It is within the bounds of possibility that we also can grow
in heaven. The well-known Sahu Sundhar Singh had visions of heaven that are
indicative of that possibility.
Near-death experiences
The denial of an existence in eternal heaven is
connected with the modern attitude of life that takes this world more into
account than the hereafter. The doctrine of reincarnation also knows an
existence in heaven or hell after this life indeed, but that is only temporary.
The thing that matters is the next life on earth. Whereas reincarnation still
implies a life after death, there are many people nowadays who don’t believe in
a life after death at all. They think that our death is the end of everything.
There are, however, numerous experiences that point to the fact that death is
not the end: the near-death experiences. Often people have extraordinary
experiences while being clinically dead. The stories we read closely resemble
each other. A person can experience leaving their own body and that,
subsequently, he or she can look down on it from above. Usually a person goes
through a tunnel with a beautiful light at the other end. Often one can meet
“angels” or “guides” who lead people around.
What these people see is often of such surpassing beauty that they are
able to easily leave behind all that is dear to them. After such an experience
people are no longer afraid of death.
These experiences are indicative of the existence of
a heaven. But what are we to think of hell? Is it not exaggerating things a
little to believe in a hell? Aren’t we all bound for this wonderful light? Most
authors of near-death experiences like Elisabeth Kuebler Ross write positively
about this kind of experience, but there are also accounts of people who had
frightful experiences. They found themselves in a place of utter darkness and
indescribable loneliness, in spite of other people being there, but there was
no presence of love. Christine Eastel, who underwent such a near-death
experience, stated in a television programme that she was abducted and thrown
into a dark “pit;” she was completely unable to offer any resistance, and she
felt a malicious presence around her. She described it as being “extra dark”
there. She had no idea whatsoever why she had “deserved” to be thrown into such
a place. She had lived a normal life, harmed no one and she believed in God.
Such experiences are real!
According to witnesses one reaches a boundary one is
not allowed to go beyond: one knows that when one does cross it, one reaches a
point of no return. Such experiences no not, in fact, always tell us the truth
about our ultimate destiny, but they do point to the existence of heaven and
hell.
In the Bible we find a beautiful and positive kind
of near-death experience. When Stephen is being stoned to death, just before
dying, he sees heaven opening up. He saw the majesty of God with Jesus standing
at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). Many Christians have received a sign from
God just before their death that they were going to heaven. It is unlikely that
one still wants to go back to earth again.
If a life after death does exist, then that has
implications for our view of suicide and euthanasia. Because that means that we are not rid of everything by suicide
or euthanasia and then we have to consider what these deeds mean for our fate
in the hereafter. Raymond Moody writes in his book Life after Life that
people had unpleasant experiences after having tried to commit suicide. They
were not rid of the conflicts they suffered from, but had even more troubles in
the hereafter. A man who survived suicide after the death of his wife told that
he did not go to the place where his wife was. He came into a horrific region
and immediately realised that he had made a mistake. He wished he had not done
this.
Others who have stayed in this unpleasant region
told that they had the feeling that they were to stay there for a long time.
That was the punishment for violating the rules. They had not realised what
their aim in life was.
This corresponds to the opinion the Bible holds of
suicide: one violates one of the ten commandments of God. I would not like to
judge cases of suicide committed by people who were not accountable, for
instance, in a state of psychosis. God judges mercifully. After this excursion
into near-death experiences let us go back to the doctrine of reincarnation.
The great question is how this doctrine came into
being. Pastor Hans Stolp simply takes it for granted. In reality this means, however, that he follows an intuition
uncritically. He does not critically wonder whether reincarnation actually
exists. (Formerly, I also took it for granted that I had lived in India in a
previous life. In this way I explained my interest for India. Now I know that I
can also explain this interest differently and that this idea was simply a
fantasy.)
But where does this fantasy come from? Orientals say
that while they are in a deep trance they remember previous lives. This is how
the Buddha could remember about thirty past lives after his enlightenment.
When clients are brought under hypnosis, which is a
kind of trance, for instance, in the regression therapy, then it can also
happen that they start to talk about previous lives. Years ago a film was
televised in which some women were brought under hypnosis during which they
could remember past lives. What they told about their previous lives was
checked and some aspects proved to be true. That was seen as proof that
reincarnation does exist. But is it true?
The happening exactly resembled a séance. The women
started to speak with a different voice which indicated that another spirit
spoke through them. You could ask the question: isn’t the voice that speaks the
voice of the person she had been in a previous life? No, this is impossible
because, according to the doctrine of reincarnation, the personality
disintegrates after death and the voice does not exist any longer.
When people are in a state of trance or are brought
under hypnosis, they are hypersensitive to influences from the world of evil
spirits. I think, therefore, that soothsaying spirits spoke through them. Evil
spirits are often soothsaying spirits that pass on information about the past.
Not everything is deception in such an experiment. The test subjects indeed get
pictures from the past and those pictures can be true. There is clairvoyance
into the future, but also into the past. The question is: which spirit causes the clairvoyance. We can
receive revelations from God, but also the Evil one can deceive us. We have
learned that we can be deluded, if we seek contact with the unseen world by a
technique. It is possible that a demon gives information to the test subject
about a person who lived in the past. The remarkable thing is that one thinks
to have been that person oneself. We know the phenomenon of identification. A
person identifies himself with another person and thinks he is himself that
person. The person who thinks he is Napoleon is well-known. I believe that such
an identification process lies at the bottom of the feeling that one has been a
certain person in a past life. That suggestion is put upon a person by a demon.
Even more striking are the stories of children, for
instance, Santi Devi in India, who spontaneously talk about a previous life and
give exact information about it. You would nearly start to believe in
reincarnation. But, also, such cases can be due to possession by a spirit. I
have read that those children are weighed down by a heavy burden, which is
indicative of the work of an evil spirit.
At the present time forceful attempts are being made
to find the doctrine of reincarnation in the Bible. According to Pastor Stolp it was an esoteric doctrine transmitted
in secret by Jesus and the apostles. It is known to the Gnostics in the early
church, but was rejected erroneously by the official church later on. He refers
to the fact that Jesus explained certain things only to his disciples. That is
true, but that does not mean that esoteric teachings and, especially, the
doctrine of reincarnation are involved. It is a strange train of thought, since
everybody traditionally knows the doctrine of reincarnation in India. It was
not an esoteric doctrine at all. Why would it then be an esoteric teaching in
the Bible?
In the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament
the idea of reincarnation is unknown. It is clearly stated that we die once
only.
“Just as man is destined to
die once, and after that to face judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27)
Apparently “proof” is found that John the Baptist
was the reincarnated Elijah. But the angel of the Lord only says: “And he (John
the Baptist) will go on before the Lord (Jesus), in the spirit and power of
Elijah” (Luke 1:17). Moreover, Elijah appears with Jesus on the Mountain of
Transfiguration and he cannot therefore be reincarnated.
The doctrine of reincarnation is in direct conflict
with the gospel. To mention a few points:
According to the Bible it is the spirit of the
anti-christ who denies the salvation work of Jesus Christ and conjures up a
disastrous fantasy for man.
As we have seen, the spirits New Agers contact are
soothsaying spirits that can give all kinds of information about the past, but
also about the future. And, by nature, man is curious to know the future.
Besides channelling there are various methods that can be used to know more
about the future: spinning the glass,
tarot cards, palmistry, I-Ching (Chinese book of oracles), and astrology. Now
let us pay special attention to the consulting of horoscopes. To what extent do
soothsaying spirits present themselves in astrology? First, however, let us see
what prophecy means in general.
There are a few things we can know about the future.
We know for certain that we will all die once.
However, we do not know exactly when. Most things to do with the future
God has kept us from knowing, and that is a good thing.
God sometimes chooses to reveal something of the
future via his prophets, but that has a clear meaning. So we read in the book
of Genesis that Pharaoh of Egypt had two dreams: one about seven fat and seven
lean or thin cows, and another about seven good and seven thin ears of corn.
Joseph, the son of Jacob, who had been imprisoned in Egypt, was able to explain
the dreams. These were predicting dreams about seven good and seven bad years.
To him it was clear that a famine was coming and precautions could be taken so
that there would be sufficient corn for the bad years.
God can also announce a disaster in advance. In this
way He let the prophet Jonah know that He was going to destroy Nineveh.
However, He does this in order to give man the opportunity to repent. When the inhabitants of Nineveh repented,
the disaster did not take place.
The apostle John got revelations of the end time on
Patmos. Why were all those disasters and the battle between Christ and the
anti-christ revealed to him? I think it is because, in this way, we can
understand what happens to this world. We now know that God has everything
under his control and we find consolation in the fact that the victory over
evil is certain.
God also gave personal prophesy to Joseph. He
dreamed that he and his brothers were binding sheaves in a field, and suddenly
his sheaf rose and also stood upright; and the sheaves of his brothers stood
round about, and bowed down to his sheaf.
(Genesis 37:5-8) Why did Joseph have this dream? I think God wanted to
encourage him in view of his imprisonment in Egypt. He would be able to
remember his dream and cherish hopes that everything would be all right. He knew that God had a plan with his life.
The predictions of soothsaying spirits belong to
another spiritual world. Their predictions often – not always, of course –
concern disasters. When I was still at school, I met a Greek person who read my
palm and predicted that something quite horrible would happen before my death.
Such a negative prediction is not conditional, but it is simply: you will die
at such and such a time, or: you will have an accident in a few years. A girl
who practised “spinning the glass” was told that she was to die at the age of
32! This is the work of a soothsaying spirit. On the other hand, soothsaying
spirits can make beautiful promises. The spirit “Ezekiel” promised paradise to
Janny Post. But false spirits do not fulfil their promises.
Some soothsaying spirits cause you to win money on
the lottery or on the pools. Mary Duval, who is called the greatest clairvoyant
in the world, in a newspaper offers a talisman that will give you good luck and
prosperity according to her and cause you to win money on the lottery. The guru
in India, Mira Alfassa, told that there are entities that play a little game
with you. First they indeed cause you to win a lot of money, but at a certain
moment, a turn will come and then you will lose all your money again.
Astrology, looking at the position of stars, that
is, sun, moon and planets, is quite an ancient way to predict the future,
already known in biblical times. In itself it need not be wrong to pay
attention to the stars. Bileam had already prophesied about a special star that
would come out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). The wise men from the East had seen a
star and knew that the Saviour had been born. In the book Job we read:
“Can you bind the beautiful
Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the
constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?” (Job
38:31-32)
The great question is which meaning has God given to
the constellations. Is it God’s intention that stars determine our lives? In
any case the Bible forbids consulting astrologers in order to know more about
the future. The prophet Isaiah warns:
“All the counsel you have
received has only worn you out. Let your astrologers come forward, those
stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is
coming upon you. Surely they are like
stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the
power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit
by.” (Isaiah 47:13-14)
The ban really concerns the prediction of the future
apart from God.
What is the philosophy behind astrology? Astrology
is not only used for predicting the future, but also to get a better insight
into the character of man and his possibilities on the basis of a horoscope
charted from the time of birth. Elizabeth Teissier, one of the most noted
astrologers in Europe, describes astrology as follows:
“It is a system of universal
interconnection as the science of the influence of the solar system in the
field of geomagnetism, psychology, physiology and society, and upon men and all
that exists here in this world.”[7]
It is possible that certain cosmic connections do
exist. God has put laws into his creation. That does not mean, however, that it
is recommendable to study astrology intensively. The books on astrology prove
that it is not a neutral science. Elizabeth Teissier indicates that a good
measure of intuition, that is, paranormal sensitivity, is also needed to study
astrology well. The basic thought of astrologers, like in the Alchemy and New
Age philosophy, is that God, man and nature are all one. Man is regarded as a
micro cosmos, a small world that is a reflection of the big world, the macro
cosmos. This macro cosmos, they say, is preserved by a primal energy. God is a
force and man is a small piece of God.
Teissier is deeply involved in New Age thought. She writes:
“All earthly things arise
from one and the same energy, a cosmic energy.”[8]
When entering this world we are exposed to a
spiritual influence. She admits that astrology “binds us to the cosmos.” We get
bound by cosmic spirits and that can have bad effects. A young man, who studied
astrology intensively, became severely depressed. I also experienced darkness
when I read some books on astrology.
As Christians we are not led by cosmic spirits, but
by the Holy Spirit. We have come into a new freedom. Paul writes:
“Because those who are led
by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)
Formerly, a psychologist who studied astrology told
me the remarkable fact that the horoscopes of people who have converted to the
Christian faith, are no longer correct.
Almost every newspaper and magazine contains a
section of horoscopes which people can readily consult. Can it do any harm to
have a look at them? According to Karen Hamaker-Zondag, an astrologer, humbug
is often involved in such horoscopes. But there are also serious predictions.
In her book Astrologie in het dagelijks leven
(Astrology in daily life) Karen Hamaker warns against the danger of
self-fulfilling prophecies. People look forward to such predictions and live
their lives according to them. It is a fact that predictions can come true. I
see another explanation and that is that you come under the influence of
demonic powers if you consult horoscopes. You give the soothsaying spirits the
power to influence your life by consulting and believing in horoscopes. And
then what they predict can happen.
A famous example of how dangerous it is to consult
soothsayers is Pim Fortuyn, a well-known politician in Holland who was murdered.
We read in the newspaper that a fortune-teller at the fair in a place called
Best had predicted two years previously that Pim would meet his end in a
horrible way. He came out looking very
pale. When Pim consulted the fortune-teller and gave credit to the prediction,
he came under the influence of that soothsaying spirit and then indeed what was
foretold happened. Pim did not know that such a curse could be broken in the
name of Jesus Christ. If there are readers who suffer under the burden of a negative
prediction, they can be assured that their curses can be broken in the name of
Jesus Christ.
Can it do any harm to consult horoscopes in a
magazine simply out of curiosity? I believe it is not a harmless matter and it
is not advisable to do it. As soon as we start to consult horoscopes a negative
influence starts to work on us. God does not want us to consult horoscopes or
astrologers. He wants us to consult Him. If necessary, God will predict
something relating to the future. The future God gives is a hopeful future!
In New Age philosophy cosmic energy plays an
important part. God is especially perceived as a primal energy. Man is regarded
as a part of the divine. This divine force is also in man. The only thing is it
cannot always flow freely. We can erect blockades, and then we fall ill. If we
want to be healthy, we have to lift the blockades so that the healing energy
within us can flow through us freely.
Therefore, the basic principle of healing in New Age is: we are our own healers. There are, of
course, aids to activate the cosmic energy like yoga exercises and paranormal
healers can transmit cosmic energy to clients. In the New Age movement a number
of alternative therapies like Reiki are popular, which stimulate the
circulation of cosmic energy. The big question is, what is this cosmic energy?
Again and again we read in the books of healers that
cosmic energy is a natural and neutral thing.
Indeed, there is a natural healing energy. When the body is wounded, a
natural recovery process sets in. Also, when a mother rubs her child’s sore
knee, the child gets relief. And so healers regard the cosmic energy they work
with to be a natural energy. Since this force can only work positively
therefore it cannot do any harm. We need not fear any harm at all, they say,
when we go to a mesmerist for treatment. The mesmerist Frank den Ouden writes
that Jesus also laid hands on people and was, therefore, a mesmerist. He is
amazed that there are still people who think it is a practice of the devil.
Indeed, in the New Age the existence of the devil is not considered at all or
he is thought of as being a good spirit. In this way no consideration is given
to whether the healing may have come from a demonic source. It does not matter
at all to New Agers where this cosmic energy comes from, whether it is Christ,
God, the inner Teacher or whatever it may be. The only thing that matters is
that the method works. No distinction is made between God and idols and it is
not taken into consideration that we can also experience the working of demonic
forces.
One also finds the thought that this cosmic energy
has two aspects: light and darkness. In China these aspects are called yin and yang.
Yang is the positive make force from the starry sky, and yin is the negative
female force from the earth. However, for the healers this force is always
good. If something is wrong, the person in question is to blame or you yourself
have a strong resistance. If you are in harmony with the cosmos, nothing is
wrong. The point is that you know how to handle these forces. In this way, experiences with negative
energy are brushed aside. Isn’t a contradiction, however, that a neutral energy
has two different sides?
In the Bible we find another, more understandable
language that does justice to the reality of light and darkness. God is pure
light. The apostle John writes:
“God
is light and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
According to the Bible we must make a distinction
between light and darkness. We have to discern whether a force, if not being
neutral, is of God or of dark powers. Jesus warned against false signs and
miracles. So there is a pure and a dark energy.
It is not easy to discern good from evil. Although
we have to discriminate between two different sources, there is only one
original kind of energy. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is the primal
source of all energy. The force going out from Satan and demons was originally
a divine force. But New Agers do not realise that Satan and demons have
polluted that force and they use it now to bind people. In principle, it
remains the same force. Polluted water remains water. But we must not drink
polluted water because it will make us ill.
When a medium entered a Christian chapel after her
conversion, she had a remarkable experience which she related to her friend:
“As soon as I entered your
chapel and sat down on a chair between the people, I was aware of a
supernatural power. It was the same kind of supernatural force I knew from our
séances, but there was a great difference. I had the feeling that the power in
your chapel was a pure power.”
Because I became familiar with black energy through
experience, I now know the difference between the pure power of the Holy Spirit
and the impure energy I experienced in the paranormal world. We can now
understand that the German lady who was initiated by a Tibetan lama also was
the victim of black energy.
That a method works is no guarantee that the force
comes from God, because occult forces also work effectively. At the beginning
the healing seems to be real. Demons can make a good impression at the
beginning. Here is an example:
In India I got to know an Australian lady who said
that she started to hear voices while practising meditation. She was addicted
to smoking and the voice told her that she had to stop smoking and she did. You
would think that these were good spirits since they delivered her from smoking.
But the story continues. Then the voices said that she could no longer be
married if she wanted to live a spiritual life. So she got divorced. After that
she went to India where I met her. But she had no rest: she wanted to go to
Germany and disappeared. She was driven by the spirits. It all seemed to start
so well.
That dark forces exist does not mean, of course,
that all alternative therapies must be wrong. There is nothing wrong with herb
therapy and there is no need to fear all ointments and medicines from the
health food shop. The question is: which force do the paranormal healers use?
Let us examine, case-by-case, whether pure of impure energy is involved and we
will especially take a close look at the methods of mesmerism, Yoga and Reiki.
Mesmerist Frank den Ouden describes the method of
mesmerism as follows:
“It is giving love in the
form of energy, the lifting of blockages being a central issue. In this way, the balance between body and
spirit is recovered.”[9]
Mesmerists say they transmit the energy they receive
from the cosmos to their clients in order to help them. Usually they do so by
striking their hands over the sore place. Also, Frank den Ouden claims he uses
a natural gift.
On further consideration something more is at stake.
As Mesmer (1734-1815), who introduced the doctrine of mesmerism in Europe,
started to put his theories into practice strange things happened. The clients fell into a trance during or
after the treatment. Whether by trance or hypnosis the client becomes hypersensitive
to the world of evil spirits.
Also, Frank den Ouden does not simply have a natural
gift, he is assisted by spirit guides in his work. He says that, at a certain moment, he started to hear an inner
voice which said, “You are helped by the cosmos, let it happen.” And he
continues:
“I let it happen and it was
surprising that the results of mesmerism became considerably better. The
patients felt better quicker and regained their health sooner. From that time
the inner voice returned regularly and gave me even specific indications on how
to treat spots in the body by holding my hands on them or above them. After
some time I also started to feel that the energy from which the voice came, was
at the left side behind me. It did not alarm me at all because the patients
felt wonderfully relaxed and better after the treatment. I became more and more
aware of that energy as a female energy and felt her more and more often around
me. She told me that she was my guide, my guardian angel, and that I had to look
at the other side of my body. There, you see, was another guide, a man who
looked at me in a friendly way. Soon I became friends with my guides. Their
names are Lena and Alfons. To the present day they are with me and they have
said they will remain with me till the end of my life and afterwards.”[10]
This shows that the “healing” energy is not neutral,
but is mediated by spirits from the unseen world of spirits. The question is:
which spirits do we contact in this way? Good guardian angels exist, but we have
also seen that within the New Age one contacts spirit guides that are, in
reality, demons. We also have indications that Frank’s inspiration is not from
a pure source. Of his own free will he has developed his sensitivity to the
paranormal world and we have seen that we can contact evil spirits in this way.
We cannot develop a healing gift that is of God. That is a pure gift of
grace.
He proves to adhere to the New Age philosophy that
man is a part of the divine.
“As we are a part of that
cosmic force, we also take part in the divine force, quite simply said: within
us a part of God dwells.”[11]
We read in the second letter of the apostle Peter
“so that through them you may participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 2:4),
but that is not the case by nature; this happens by grace, when we are reborn
by God’s Spirit. And this also does not mean that we are a piece of God.
Moreover, Frank den Ouden believes in the doctrine of reincarnation which we
have unmasked as demonic. He even brings clients back to so-called previous
lives.
We recognize an occult force that is not of God by
the results. Stories are frequently told of people who were indeed cured of a
physical ailment only to have psychic complaints later on, for instance,
attacks of fear or a depression. An occult healing is only temporary. It
turns out that we come under a spiritual influence by mesmerism. A church
minister once told me that two girls who were attending his confirmation
classes suddenly dropped out just before the confirmation. In a conversation
with them it became clear that they had been to see a mesmerist and suddenly
they lost their faith.
That this healing energy does not come from God but
from other spirits became clear from the experience of a woman who went to see
a mesmerist. She did not know whether what she was doing was right, so she
decided to sit and pray while in the waiting room. The mesmerist then burst
into the room, red-hot with anger, exclaiming: “Someone must be praying, I
cannot do my work any longer.”
Mesmerism is quite an ancient method of healing and
was already known in biblical times. We find an allusion to this alternative
therapy in the book of Kings. When Naaman, who was a leper, came to the prophet
Elisha, he expected him to help him as a mesmerist.
“So Naaman went with his
horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a
messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your
flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” But Naaman went away angry
and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on
the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my
leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:9-11)
But this is not God’s way, even if Elisha were to
say a prayer with it. God wants Naaman to rely on Him and have himself immersed
in the river Jordan.
The question may arise: Isn’t improbable that a
mesmerist with good intentions to help people still uses a negative force? We
have heard the story of the female slave in Philippi who helped people with her
paranormal gift. This woman probably had good intentions. People were also
grateful to her so that she earned a lot of money for her boss. Alternative
healers also have good intentions. I too had good intentions. I was seeking God
and wanted to help people. But still you can be deceived with your good
intentions.
You may think isn’t it unreasonable that one is
misled while having good intentions. We can answer that, one can go on a
journey with good intentions but in spite of that can sink in a swamp, because
we have not taken a good map with us.
But, we may think, alternative healers also believe
in God. The clairvoyant Croiset told that his paranormal capacity was a gift
from God. But which higher power do you really mean? Croiset had an aversion to
the gospel of Jesus Christ. His god was in any case not the God of the Bible.
But perhaps you may think: it can happen that a
believer also has such a paranormal gift. It indeed occurs that a person is
born with this gift. But we have to consider the fact that a paranormal gift
can be inherited from ancestors who have practised occultism. In such a case it
is not advisable to use that gift.
We learn from the New Testament that the only safe
way of energy transfer, if supernatural, is to lay hands on a sick person in
the name of Jesus and to pray for him. In that case, the person praying is an
instrument of the Holy Spirit and pure energy is involved.
In a previous chapter we have seen that it can be
dangerous to apply Eastern meditation techniques. But is this also true of yoga? Let us first consider the
arguments of proponents.
First of all, yoga is considered to be a neutral
affair. According the Jeroen Witkam, abbot of the monastery at Zundert in
Holland, where the monks practice yoga and Zen, Orientals have developed
methods by virtue of an age-old tradition that help man to discover the depths
of his inner being. According to the
teachers, yoga is an age-long method to balance body and spirit in a natural
way. It is a matter of natural relaxation. But they also say that yoga gives
you another way of thinking and acting. There is something more. In India,
where yoga originated, the yoga teachers teach that all yoga, also physical
exercises, is not merely natural, it is a spiritual affair.
In former times when I started to read the books of
yogis, I underwent a spiritual influence. I did not feel the need to go to
church or to pray anymore, and above all I acquired a different view of
Jesus. He was no longer the unique Son
of God, but became one of the many gurus. It is not surprising that a young
man, after having followed a course in the monastery at Zundert, lost his Christian
faith and became a Buddhist. We cannot then claim that yoga is simply a natural
affair.
Secondly, it would be justified to borrow good
elements from other religions. Of course, it is not wrong to learn from what is
good. Paul himself acknowledged that pagans can utter truths: “As some of your
own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:28). A natural wisdom can
be found with pagan philosophers. But, on the other hand, Paul warned against
the ancient religions:
“But the sacrifices of
pagans are offered to demons, not to God.” (1 Cor. 10:20)
That means that we must beware of possible demonic
influences.
You, the reader, may think: It is clear that you can
be influenced spiritually by books, but how can physical exercises have
something to do with spiritual forces and even demons? Let us examine whether
one can practice yoga without engaging ourselves in the Hindu background.
Thirdly, we should become healthier through yoga
exercises. We know the trees by their fruits. But it is also a fact that many
people have got mental and/or physical troubles as a result of their
involvement in yoga. Yogis in India warn against the dangers that lie in wait.
The question is: how can we explain this double effect? Some benefit from it,
it seems, while others get into serious trouble. It is high time that we
examine what yoga really is.
In the Bhagavadgita, a famous Hindu writing,
yoga means unity with God. We ourselves have to become divine. In even more
ancient Hindu writings, the Upanishads, the most important religious
experience is expressed as follows: “Aham asmi Brahman,” I myself am the
divine. Like New Agers nowadays the Hindus thought that man is a piece of God.
We have only to become conscious of that truth. The aim of yoga is to become
aware of one’s own divinity. Yoga means literally “yoke.” It requires an
arduous discipline to become one with the divine. That may take several lives
to achieve. The question is whether you will ever reach that goal.
The yogi wants to transcend the normal human
existence and become divine himself. One may even wonder whether he is really
interested in God. In the classical raja-yoga of Patanjali the ultimate goal is
not a relationship with God, but of reaching the highest form of consciousness
and the acquiring of one’s own state of rapture. The highest aim is achieving a
state of trance in which one is immersed in the divine.
The aim of yoga is, therefore, spiritual. Also the
physical exercises serve this aim. The hatha-yoga, consisting of physical and
breathing exercises, is in fact part of the raja-yoga. There are three stages
raja-yoga. First, there is an ethical preparation. There are noble principles
like speaking the truth, which seems to be biblical. But the basic motive for
doing good is not charity but the wish to grow spiritually.
The next stage consists of physical and breathing
exercises. An important motive for doing these exercises is to control the body
so much so that one is able to meditate for hours undisturbed. The yoga
exercises are not concerned with the improvement of our natural lives, but
rather with the dissolution thereof. Therefore, the exercises are static in
nature and unnatural. For instance, one
must be able to stand on one leg for a long period of time. The breathing exercises
are not meant to improve breathing, but to restrict breathing as much as
possible. There are even yogis who stop breathing and have themselves buried
alive for a few days.
The third stage is meditation. One has to learn to
concentrate one’s thoughts on one point and finally to eliminate them. We have
already discussed Eastern meditation in the previous chapter.
We have seen that yoga is not a natural affair but
serves a spiritual aim. However, it is
still not quite clear that one can contact occult forces simply through there
bodily exercises. Are there indications for that? By practising yoga one
develops a force which is called kundalini-force, snake-force. This is
not simply a natural force. There are yogis who receive so much energy that
they never become tired and never need to sleep. That is not natural. Even
Jesus was tired after a busy day and needed rest. A church minister who started
to do yoga exercises noticed that he received a paranormal capacity and became
clairvoyant. Through this experience he realised that yoga is not normal
gymnastics and he stopped it. Even if one is not aware of the spiritual
background, one is still influenced by it spiritually.
What are we to think of relaxation exercises? These
can’t be harmful, can they? The question is, however, what kind of relaxation
is experienced. Yoga peace, like the peace one experiences in TM, is not a
natural relaxation. Once when I went upstairs to Sri Aurobindo’s room in the
Ashram, an intense peace descended on me like a block of stone. In yoga you
must switch off all your emotions. You will reach the yoga peace when nothing
can disturb you anymore, no matter what happens. You are not supposed to be sad
or really happy. Then you indeed enter into a state of blissfulness which,
however, does not last long. I also had a feeling of being paralysed as if I
could no longer do anything. The peace was very impressive but it makes you
hard, insensitive and passive. This is not the peace of God. The Holy Spirit
does not make us insensitive, but refines our emotions. An ex-yoga teacher
confessed that yoga relaxation is not a natural affair. He revealed that yoga
relaxation is, in fact, a kind of hypnosis and he made use of that state to
influence his pupils spiritually.
Yoga peace is a surrogate of the real peace of God.
The Holy Spirit has a peace that passes all understanding. And Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
We still need to try and understand why the yoga
exercises can generate an occult force, whereas normal exercises do not. In
order to understand it we must find the source behind the exercises. Yogis say
that they have received their inspiration from the Hindu gods. The physical
exercises are not neutral postures, they are – in any case certain ones –
symbolically meant as a dedication to the Hindu gods. Whoever starts practising
yoga, contacts Hindu gods and comes under their influence. In this way one can
acquire paranormal capacities. The master of yoga is especially the god
Shiva. Shiva is the great destroyer,
but has also a creative power as the god of ascetics. He has a serpent writhing
around his neck and his neck is bluish black because he has swallowed poison.
We cannot compare him with the triune God of the Bible. But who is he really?
Shiva is identified with Lucifer, the devil, by the
Satanist Anton la Veye. Indeed there are remarkable resemblances. Shiva’s
nature is ambivalent. He provides a force that can give tremendous energy to
man, but also can destroy him. Now, the Bible teaches that Satan’s nature is
ambivalent. Satan tempted Jesus by promising all the glory of the earth. He can
give you health and energy, but he has the special intention to bind you
thereby and, finally, he is out for your destruction. Either way we meet a
spirit of destruction. One can, of
course, have a different opinion on this. In the Bible Satan is the power of
evil, the great enemy of God. New Age adherents, however, regard Lucifer as a
good spirit and not really an evil spirit. The fact remains that we can contact
a destructive force in yoga.
In the alternative circuit there are several methods
to transmit energy. Besides the common method of mesmerism there are various
alternative therapies working with cosmic energy, for example, therapeutic
touch, acupuncture and Tibetan scale therapy. Jomanda speaks of “love energy.”
Reiki is also a method to transmit cosmic energy by
the laying on of hands. Various – mostly expensive – courses are offered to
become a Reiki master. For an initiation it is required to be able to transmit
Reiki energy. This method is becoming more and more popular. It is even applied
to children at infant schools. A home help went to the nursery and put a ritual
symbol on the wall. From that time onwards there was a strange light in the
nursery. What is the matter here?
The healing force of Reiki was discovered by Dr.
Usui (1865-1936) at the end of the nineteenth century. He was rector of a
Catholic University in Japan. A student asked him why Christ was able to do
such great healing miracles and why they no longer happen today. Could Usui
show him how Jesus did this? This question inspired Usui to try and find out
which force Jesus used to heal people. In order to discover the answer, Usui
resigned and started to study Christianity in a Christian country. He went to
America where he studied at the University of Chicago and there became a doctor
of theology. He found, however, the answer neither in Christianity nor in
Chinese writings. He travelled to North India and there he studied the holy
writings. One day, back in Japan, he discovered a few symbols and formulas in
ancient Buddhist sutras (writings), which gave him an answer to his question.
The next day he went alone to the Kuriyama mountain to meditate and fast. He
read the sutras, sang and meditated. Then he saw a radiating light coming from
himself after 21 days. After having been touched by that light, his state of
consciousness changed. He sank down on the ground and saw symbols appearing in
what appeared to be light balls. They branded his consciousness and proved to
be the keys to the divine healing force for him. This was his initiation into
Reiki. After that he was able to heal people.
This story of his quest is, however, also denied.
Diane Stein writes in her book Essential Reiki that the Christian
aspects of the story have been added in the West to make the force of Reiki
healing acceptable for Americans. She also mentions that the light touched his
third eye and that he lost consciousness for a time. This indicates demonic
possession.
The question therefore is which light did Usui see.
There are also false occult lights. We notice that he did not subject it to a
critical examination in order to verify whether indeed it was the true light he
saw. Paul also saw a light on the way to Damascus, but that light was radiated
by a person: Jesus Christ. The light Dr. Usui saw had, however, nothing to do
with Jesus Christ, but with Buddhist symbols.
Reiki masters usually keep silent about the Buddhist
background. They say that Reiki is a matter of natural energy that cannot do
any harm and only works positively. It is claimed be a universal life force
that is present in everything and a natural way of healing by means of the
laying on of hands. Reiki, they say,
relaxes body and spirit, stimulates healing and personal growth, and brings you
into balance. It opens your inner healing channel. This is very appealing,
isn’t it?
However, we read in a book on Reiki that man does
not possess that force by nature; it is not our own energy, but a cosmic force
working through us. If it is not a force we possess by nature, we have to
examine the source from which the force comes. According to Reiki-masters there
is no problem at all. It is a neutral
universal force. Baginski and Sharamon stress in their book Reiki: Universal
Life Energy that Reiki does not imply a special belief or religion.
However, they also write that following this way means the destruction of the
old [that is, Christian!] structures. Here an anti-Christian spirit becomes
manifest. Through Reiki we come under a
spiritual influence. Reiki influences the whole man, spirit, soul and body.
They say that the Reiki treatment brings us into contact with a new way of
thinking and arouses our interest in, for instance, yoga and meditation.
Again, Diane Stein does not call Reiki a religion,
but the source of energy one comes into contact with through the initiation is
called Goddess. She herself is a witch. She notices moreover that Reiki is
brought to this planet by the Hindu god Shiva. In that case Reiki is connected
to a certain religion indeed.
Baginski and Sharamon assert that Reiki has nothing
to do with occultism and the world of demons.
Is this true? In order to become a Reiki master, one must be initiated.
There are, if fact, three possible initiations. Diane Stein mentions that Reiki
symbols are drawn above or on the crown and in the hands during the initiation.
According to Diane Stein the symbols can be compared
with a mantra. The Reiki symbols expose the person being initiated to gods and
spirits in the same way that a mantra does. A Reiki master posed the question:
“Why is a Buddhist symbol demonic and seeing Jesus good?” If you do not know
anything about the background of these Buddhist symbols, the difference is
indeed not clear. The question is which spiritual power is behind the symbols.
The Reiki symbols have nothing to do with Christ and the Christian faith. They
have their origins in Tibetan Buddhism. That is a completely different
spiritual world full of gods, spirits and demons as we have seen.
Reiki masters experience that they are assisted by
spirit guides in their work. These guides are called “angels.” During the
initiation, spirits are certainly conjured up. According to Diane Stein each
healer receives a spiritual Reiki guide as soon as he is initiated. That means
that the initiate contacts demons assisting at the healing. As soon as the
energy starts to flow in a healing the Reiki guides appear.
I suppose most clients who come for a Reiki
treatment – and probably most Reiki masters also – don’t realise what really
happens. Sometimes they perceive that there are more hands than those of the
Reiki masters. Diane Stein writes that she has done healings having the feeling
that the room was filled with people. Sometimes she sees them and sometimes she
only feels their presence. Sometimes a client feels more hands than hers only.
The other hands are those of the spirits present.
In Baginski’s book we read that the reactions to a
treatment can vary to a great extent. Some first get a feeling of well-being
and relaxation and think they benefit from it. “That something wonderful like
this really exists,” somebody once exclaimed. An elderly man, however, started
to feel quite restless. We are not told
that people can become seriously ill. I know several people who became ill
through Reiki and got bound by it.
I myself know from experience what it means to be
initiated by a guru and to have hands laid upon me. This was called “the
Mother’s blessings,” but, unfortunately, it proved to be a curse. Reiki is an
imitation of the biblical laying on of hands.
We have seen that we can become bound if we have
come into contact with the occult world full of demonic forces. The results can
be serious. A person can experience a blockage in his or her faith or start to
suffer from depression or fatigue. If a person is bound by an occult practice,
whatever it may be, that person needs deliverance.
For the sake of freedom it is necessary to break
with all occult practices. This includes the removal of occult objects, for
example, statues of Buddha. It is possible that demons bind themselves to
objects. Derek Prince relates in his
book Blessing or Curse that a Chinese canvas with four beautifully
embroidered dragons in his house caused a curse in his life. After its removal
things improved.
This is also true of occult books. I myself brought
all occult books to the incinerator, together with friends. I was freed from
insomnia.
In the book of Acts we read that the converted
magicians burned all their books:
“A number who had practiced
sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they
calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand
drachmas.” (Acts 19:19)
Probably they would have also burned the Harry
Potter books.
Demons can also be present in places. The following
account is an example.
“Eshleman tells the story of the film team who had
shown the film in a certain rural village (in Thailand). They had planned on
staying in the village that night and returning home the next day. They were told they would be sleeping in the
local Buddhist temple. What they were not told was that this particular temple
was known for miles around as the chief dwelling place of demons. Others who
had tried to sleep there had been run out before morning. Some reportedly had
been found dead the next day.
Shortly after the team had gone to sleep, Eshleman
reports, ‘they were all at once awakened by the immaterial presence of a
hideous beast. There in the corner of the room appeared the most frightful
image they had ever seen. Fear struck them all like an icy fist.’
The startled team decided to put into practice what
they had seen Jesus do in their own film. They prayed together and boldly cast
the demon out of the temple in the name of Jesus. Nothing else was necessary,
and they slept peacefully the rest of the night.
Early in the morning the villagers came to carry off
the team’s equipment they were sure had been left behind when the Christians
were run off or killed by the demons. When they found them sound asleep ‘they were
confronted with the undeniable fact that God is more powerful than any other
force.’”[12]
Freedom
Fortunately we can say to any of the readers who
have become involved and bound by occultism that deliverance is possible
through Jesus Christ. He has overcome all the occult powers on the cross. He is
the living risen Lord. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has reconciled us
with God. His salvation work has another aspect that is highly topical today.
The apostle John writes:
“The reason the Son of
God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8)
He has overcome the devil on Golgotha. His power
surpasses all other powers and forces. In Him we have found the reliable Guide
to heaven.
Many have experienced that Jesus’ power is greater
than any other force. Hesley Dijkgraaf, who practised TM and consulted the
I-Ching, came into contact with Christians. When they asked him to allow Jesus
into his life, he set one condition: that Jesus would give him an experience
that would transcend all yoga experiences. And it happened. This is his account
of what happened:
“The first night I had all
kinds of visions. The beings that were always with me, also at your puja, that
initiation ritual, and who always presented themselves very agreeably to me,
suddenly revealed their true face. They were really demonic. They wanted to
drag me into a pit, into hell. I also saw a raging battle between God’s angels
and the angels of evil …
Then a beam of light came
down from heaven, which totally enveloped me. It began with my feet and legs. I
was completely filled with a sparkling light or silvery water. It totally
cleansed me.”
This was the true light. In yoga and Reiki there can
be a process of purification also. This is an imitation of the cleansing that
takes place by the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus heals and frees, many have experienced
that the cure is real and lasting. And there is no price to pay for it. Jesus
really sets free! His deliverance is pure grace. Each person has his own
story. Sometimes a person can be delivered
instantly and also physical cures can be spectacular. In other cases,
especially when the person in question has been deeply involved in the
paranormal, the deliverance can require a persevering battle. This is also my
experience. Naaman was not cured immediately, but had to immerse himself in the
Jordan river seven times. Pastor Blumhard needed two years to deliver
Gottliebin Dittus from demonic attacks and black magic. However long it takes,
the victory is sure!
What we seek in the
paranormal world, such as peace and happiness, we can truly find it in the
gospel. In the paranormal world we find a surrogate of the real.
Finally, I want to give an example of deliverance
mentioned in Basilea Schlink’s book De onzichtbare wereld van engelen en
demonen (The Unseen World of Angels and Demons).
“A young girl in China was possessed by evil
spirits. When her brother, a member of the Red Guard, came home when he had
some leave, he was quite upset by the change he noticed in his sister who had
been a good-looking, high-spirited girl the year before. Now she looked like an
old witch, had a wild look and her face was contorted with fear. She exclaimed
in what sounded like a male voice: ‘There is only one person I fear: Jesus of
Nazareth.’
Deeply impressed this young Chinese man started to
look for the whereabouts of this Jesus, who was the only one who could help his
sister. But nobody in the village knew him. Then he suddenly remembered an
incident on the way home. On his journey home the bus had to make an unscheduled
stop because of a technical fault. He had spent his time in a community where
he was given warm hospitality. When he was about to leave, the leader said to
him: ‘May our Lord Jesus bless you and may his peace be with you.’
Desperate because of his sister’s condition the
young man went back to that community the same night because he felt that this
was the only place where he could expect help. Two men from the ‘Jesus family’
did indeed go with him to help his sister in her great distress.
When they arrived at the home of the girl they found
her sitting on the floor with her hands in her hair. From the moment that the men entered the house, the situation got
worse. Like a wounded animal she looked at them with almost a mad, wild look in
her eyes. ‘What do you want?’ she roared at them with a deep manly voice.
The two Christians stretched out their hands.
‘Covered by the blood of Jesus we command you, goblin, you demon, to go out in
the name of Jesus and leave your victim. With the authority of Jesus and in his
name we command you to go immediately to the place Jesus has destined for you.
There he will bind you forever. You cannot come back because Jesus is the
Conqueror.’
Calmly and resolutely each word and sentence was
spoken out. The girl writhed on the floor like a snake. The male voice answers
from deep within, ‘I will go,’ and again, ‘I will …’ and then the voice faded
away.
One of the Christians went to the girl and laid
hands upon her and said, ‘Jesus Christ is Conqueror and He has all authority in
heaven and on earth and you are under his protection, my daughter. Jesus is
your peace for time and eternity. Receive the Holy Spirit. May the Lord keep
you and protect you from all evil and may He help and strengthen you in all
good works. Amen.’
The girl lay on the floor as if dead. The second man
went to her, took her hand, helped her to sit upright and said, ‘Get up. Jesus
is the Conqueror! Whom the Son has set free, is truly free.’ The father of the
girl could hardly believe his eyes when he saw his daughter getting up. After
all those months her facial expression became normal again. It looked as if she
had just woken up from a deep sleep and tried to remember something with
difficulty. She breathed deeply several times; then she saw her father among
the people present and she smiled and went to him, ‘Father,’ she exclaimed
joyfully, ‘I can breathe again, I am back with you.’”
If you have been touched by this story and you want
to allow Jesus to come into your life, you may pray the following prayer:
“O Lord Jesus, forgive all the sins I have committed in my life, I now believe that You died for me and I thank You for forgiving my sins. I invite You to come into my life and to become my personal Lord and Saviour. Please take control over my life and help me to follow You and to be obedient to You. Make me the person You can be proud of. Thank You, Lord Jesus.”
The Lord will bless you.
[1] H.J.J.M. van Straelen. De
niet-christelijke godsdiensten en het Christendom, Tabor, 1991, p. 171,172.
[2] Id., p.171.
[3] Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publ. Comp., 1993, Volume 5, letter 1.
[4] De niet-christelijke
godsdiensten en het Christendom, p.169.
[5] Rolf Wennekes. Tussen Wetenschap en
Mystiek, Kampen: Kok, p. 69.
[6] See:www.trimondi.de
[7] Elizabeth Teissier. Astrology.
Wetenschap van de XXIste eeuw, Den Haag: BZZTôH, 1996, p. 21.
[8] Id., p. 22.
[9] Frank den Ouden. Magnetiseren – wat is
dat? Amsterdam: Schors, 1998, p. 11.
[10] Id., p. 24.
[11] Id., p. 23.
[12] C. Peter Wagner. Spiritual Warfare, Crowborough: Monarch, 1997, p. 76.